Brand Canon, which has completed 20 years in India, is all set for its next level of growth by creating multiple touch-points to reach out to consumers, says Eddie Udagawa, VP of Consumer Imaging and Information Centre, Canon India
Canon, one of the most loved camera brands for photographers across the globe, recently turned 20 in India. To mark its successful run in the country, the brand flagged off a 60-city roadshow, aimed at strengthening its connect with the customer.
The motive behind the year-long roadshow is to give consumers an opportunity to touch, feel and try the products. It will not only cover the metros but also many Tier III and Tier IV cities. This is part of the brand’s renewed focus on reaching out to consumers in unique ways and opening two-way conversations.
Talking about the importance of such an activity, Eddie Udagawa, Vice President of Consumer Imaging and Information Centre, Canon India says, “We realize the importance of engaging with customers and will be doing various activities which take us close to them to give them a hands-on experience of our products. It’s not only about touch and feel now. We want them to have an experience. When they come to our stores, we organize workshops and contests. We also conducted a workshop for women on International Women’s Day. And it was heartening to see so many women come forward and participate.”
The brand, according to Udagawa, has been seeing impressive growth in India in the past few years and he gives credit to the country’s buoyant economy. “From a brand perspective, the Indian market is very crucial for us. Owing to the huge population here, more and more people are getting interested in photography. The improvement in people’s spending power has also given our growth a push,” observes Udagawa.
PHOTOGRAPHY AS A CULTURE
The brand is doing its bit to promote photography as a culture in the country. For the last seven years, it has been organizing photo marathons to encourage more people to take up photography. “Our focus is not only on increasing our sales. It has more to do with creating an environment that encourages photography and making it a part of the culture. Once that happens, sales will pick up automatically,” clarifies Udagawa.
The brand witnessed a 12% growth for its Image Communication Product (ICP) division in 2016 over 2015. In terms of ICP contribution to Canon in India, ICP stood at 48% last year. With launches in the DSLR range like EOS 1300D, EOS 80D, EOS-1D X Mark II & EOS 5D Mark IV, the DSLR segment saw a growth of 24% in 2016 over 2015.
In terms of advertising, the brand believes in spending its monies carefully and plans its media mix according to the requirement. “Our media mix depends completely on effectiveness. If we feel that a TVC will be the best way of making our voice heard, we come out with a TVC. But we also know that TVCs are very expensive. For us ROI is important and we leverage other mediums like Print, Digital, Outdoor or Experiential based on our needs,” elaborates Udagawa.
Sharing his plans for the Indian market in the next few years, Udagawa says that the primary focus will be on coming up with newer ways of reaching out to consumers. “Our target is to grow and every year we want to see two-digit growth. We are increasing our focus on our experience stores, Canon Image Square (CIS), where customers can have a complete hands-on experience of the products along with imaging and printing experiences before they decide to buy our products. We want customers to understand what photography is all about and what Canon products are all about,” he adds.
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